"One of the major reasons why cricket has never really taken off in the United States is because of the rise of baseball. If we go back to the mid-19th century, cricket was one of the most popular sports in America, but the expansion of baseball came at the expense of cricket. "
Yesterday witnessed an exciting milestone in the Little League Baseball World Series. For the first time in the 76-year history of LLBWS a team
from Cuba competed against other 10 to 12-year-olds from across the globe. Latin American countries like Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Cuba are hotbeds of baseball talent. This latest development gives hope to the possibility that one day Cuban athletes
may be able to play on American professional teams while spending the off-season in their home country instead of having to defect in order to
Don, thanks for your comment! The power of Indian cricket is already extending into the US and South America (especially Brazil), and reflected in viewing figures there, so I think the sport’s English origins are only one part of the narrative and a decreasingly significant one
When I googled the phrase "cricket in the united states" this article is one of the first
to come up. That's very telling and here is one of the most significant quotes therein:
https://www.cricketworld.com/why-has-cricket-never-really-taken-off-in-the-us-/80738.htm
"One of the major reasons why cricket has never really taken off in the United States is because of the rise of baseball. If we go back to the mid-19th century, cricket was one of the most popular sports in America, but the expansion of baseball came at the expense of cricket. "
Yesterday witnessed an exciting milestone in the Little League Baseball World Series. For the first time in the 76-year history of LLBWS a team
from Cuba competed against other 10 to 12-year-olds from across the globe. Latin American countries like Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Cuba are hotbeds of baseball talent. This latest development gives hope to the possibility that one day Cuban athletes
may be able to play on American professional teams while spending the off-season in their home country instead of having to defect in order to
play in the MLB.
https://apnews.com/article/little-league-cuba-japan-f9c44d56cc588ddd2fa8827b4d6795ff
Thanks Don - hadn’t seen that!
Cricket, by its very nature, is too aristocratic and elitist to ever become popular in North America,
South America or Africa. It will always be consigned to the narrow sphere of former British colonies.
Don, thanks for your comment! The power of Indian cricket is already extending into the US and South America (especially Brazil), and reflected in viewing figures there, so I think the sport’s English origins are only one part of the narrative and a decreasingly significant one
Nice shout out for the Island Games. Fingers crossed for a good week.
Cheers Simon! If you're heading back to Guernsey to watch - enjoy!